Joshua: A Sign of God's Presence

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”  Joshua 4:19-24 ESV

There are stage in the life of faith.  When a believer goes from death to life, accepting Christ’s sacrifice for their sin is called justification.  The progressive walk with Jesus, where we are being made more like Him in crucifying our flesh is sanctification.  One day, when He returns or calls us home, we will experience glorification, where our sin nature will be fully removed. Dealing with sin is our greatest need and Jesus helps us every step of the way.  Our ability to follow Jesus and trust Him as He changes us is made easier when we tangibly experience His presence.  Reminders of His presence and power in our lives build our faith.  

I love to hear other believers share of the ways God has shown themselves to them and the ways He displays His presence as they walk with Him.  Many years ago, I experienced a sacred moment with God which has become a reminder that He is always with me, like He has been telling Joshua, over the last few months as you read and I write through the book.  On a camping trip with friends, I woke early and went down to the water.  Sitting alone watching the waves crash upon the rocky shoreline, I watched a group of sandpipers race up and down the shore.  In their midst as they ran back and forth compelled by the breaking waves stood a heron.  Not worried about the water or the busyness of the smaller birds around him, he stood serene.  In that moment, in the depth of my heart, God gave the impression that who He had made me was like the bird.  That He had a unique calling on my life that would vary from everyone around me.  Where other would be beholden to the waves, I would stand steady with Him because He was with me.  I had my own purpose and path that would feel lonely and isolating at times to not be with the crowd, but I should trust Him in how He made me. 

After this deeply person and affirming time with God, where He used His creation to speak so intimately to me, seeing a heron has been a sign of His presence.  I have seen a heron in times of joy and sorrow; in places they naturally live and places they shouldn’t be.  A resident lives in the creek that borders our home.  They often land right in front of me when I’m walking by the water.  Recently, after a time of deep sorrow and vulnerability, where confession broke a spiritual stronghold in my life, a quarter with a heron on it was sitting on the bathroom counter when I entered to get tissue.   I’ve told a few friends about my love of herons and now when they see one, they text me to tell me!  It’s become a symbol that extends beyond me to my group of friends—God is with you, He sees and know you.  He will never leave you. He gives you signs to remember along the way. 

It is so easy for the human heart to forget the miraculous ways God reveals His presence to us that we need reminders, things to look back on to say, God was here.  God did this.  God know and sees and will never leave us on our own.  The next few chapters in Joshua are about preparation and presence. In Joshua chapters 3-4 God does another miracle and gives them a sign of remembrance to strengthen their faith for the battle to come.  

Israel is poised to enter the promised land.  The spies had returned from leveraging shelter at Rahab’s house and brought news back to their military leader, Joshua.  Joshua rises early in the morning to meet with God, as was his mentor’s habit and essential to him leading God’s people, and after three days, commanded the people on how to cross the Jordan following God’s instructions.  The Jordan crossing was to be a holy endeavor.  

First, they were to follow God.  God’s presence dwelt within the ark.  The people were to wait for the ark to pass by before they could follow it.  God used the ark to lead them as they had not gone this way before, yet He asked them to do it in a holy way.  He instructed a massive distance between Himself and the ark, 2000 cubits in length.  To help the modern reader, that is the approximate distance of 10 football fields.  Why would the people have to be so separated?   To touch the ark brought death because God is so holy, the distance protected the Israelites and was reverent to the character of God.  The ark was a clear sign that God’s presence was with them.  In His kindness, God had determined a way to remind the Israelites that He was always near.  

Next they were to consecrate themselves in preparation to behold the wonder God promises to do among them.  Consecration is a time of spiritual preparation to be set apart and to dedicate for a holy purpose.  More is not said in this section about consecration so we must consult other parts of the Bible for how God has called His people to consecrate themselves in the past.  In Exodus 19:10, God instructs the people to consecrate themselves at Mt. Sinai to receive the law by washing their clothing and abstaining from sexual relations.  

The motivation for consecration is given in Leviticus 20:7.  Leviticus is part of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.  Though this section of Scripture is largely historical narrative, Leviticus is a detailed outlining of the law of God.  God here is warning the people of acting like the pagan neighbors around them, in this case child sacrifice and turning to mediums for spiritual wisdom.  He forbids these practices as God’s people because the practices are evil and He calls them to separate themselves in holiness, as He is holy.  God’s people can’t be God’s people if they live like the world.  

Jesus speaks about consecration in the New Testament in Luke 5:13-14 when He calls the church to be salt and light, to preserve and illuminate God’s kingdom to those outside so people will be drawn to God.  Just like Israel, God calls us to be in the world but not of the world.  Consecration is a sign of God’s presence in that He is actively working in us to be part of His future kingdom, to remember that the world is not our home.  I Peter 2:11 describes us sojourners and exiles traveling home.  Just like Joshua and the Israelites paused to prepare themselves to cross the Jordan into the promised land. God calls us now to prepare ourselves for His return by living for Him until He takes us home and we cross the eternal Jordan.  

The preparation done, the people cross the Jordan in the way that God prescribed.  A man from each tribe bears the ark, the ark of the new covenant that the Lord of all the earth symbolically dwells in.  When the soles of their feet hit the the water, it stood up in one heap, eerily reminiscent of the Red Sea crossing.  The people left their tents to follow at a solemn distance.  The ground to enter the promised land laid bare at their feet.  

In the midst of this miracle, Joshua commands the representatives of each tribe to gather a stone from the dry ground to form a memorial to the Lord’s actions to bring them across safely.  The tribe members took the stones and set them up where they lodged after the divine crossing.  For their children, for their own hearts, to remember what really happened was real.  God does see and act on behalf of His children.  

As God grows our faith, He gives us signposts of His care along the way, personal memorials that remind us of His faithfulness.  As we battle our spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh, the devil, we can doubt that God is able to fulfill His promises.  In God’s fatherly care for our spirit, He provides personal mementos to memorialize His presence in our life.  As you see them all around you, pause and remember His personal and pursuing love for you.  

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